Cheers and Jeers

Friday

Aug 24, 2012 at 5:50 PM

Lights, cameras, action — You might have noticed a commotion in downtown Houma Friday and today.

Lights, cameras, action — You might have noticed a commotion in downtown Houma Friday and today.That’s because there is a film crew working on a movie that will feature Oprah Winfrey, Forest Whitaker, Robin Williams, Jane Fonda, Cuba Gooding Jr. and other actors.The film crew shot Wednesday in Thibodaux and last week in New Orleans. But today they are still scheduled to be in Houma, an exciting event for local folks.“The Butler” is the story of real-life White House butler Eugene Allen who served under eight presidents, from Harry Truman to Ronald Reagan.The downside of our brush with fame is that there will be some street closures, causing traffic to travel around the places the crews will be.So if you are downtown today, obey the traffic signs and make sure you don’t park in front of a parking meter with a red bag on it. You could be towed.

Masterful change — Nicholls State will soon offer more choices to its students and will turn out more highly qualified health care workers.Nicholls will begin offering a master’s degree in nursing, a move that will help the school attract more students, help students get more training and help local hospitals by providing skilled nurses.“If you talk to people in the health care community, you keep hearing board members and administrators talking about the need for nursing personnel to go to that next level of opportunity,” said university President Stephen Hulbert. “They need the master’s degree.”The move is significant because Nicholls is already the supplier of the vast majority of nurses in our region.This will be an even greater complement to the training available to these important workers, good news for them and the patients and doctors they assist.

A big boost — The Bayou Country Children’s Museum has already required a herculean effort by so many local volunteers and workers, and it hasn’t even opened yet.But that effort paid off with a huge boost last week when Shell oil donated $1 million to the museum.“This is something so huge for us. I don’t even know how to describe it,” said Christy Naquin, the museum director.The museum is already under construction, thanks to a $2 million loan, but the donation from Shell will pay off half that amount.Eventually, the 12,700-square-foot Thibodaux museum near Nicholls State will be a jewel in the region’s tourism crown.It will be an educational and cultural addition to an area already so blessed with both.Its opening will be a glorious day that caps off so much hard work in the pursuit of a worthwhile goal.

Top spot — Thibodaux Regional Medical Center has a clear reason to be proud.Earlier this week, the hospital was named one of the top 5 percent nationwide for patient safety.That achievement is something that reflects well on the many doctors, nurses, administrators and staff members at the state-of-the-art center.“This is not an endpoint. This is a part of a journey to excellence,” hospital CEO Greg Stock said.If that journey pays off with such significant milestones, it will certainly be a welcome one for the hospital and its many area patients.

Editorials represent the opinions ofthe newspaper, not of any individual.